Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of summer temperatures and heatwaves on household health and wellbeing; and whether he plans to introduce financial support or incentives to help households improve cooling measures, including air conditioning and other heat-mitigation technologies.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Warm Homes Plan sets out our approach to upgrading the nation’s homes, including climate adaptation. Over this Parliament, we intend to introduce the most appropriate, cost-effective passive cooling measures into our capital schemes, to support low-income consumers and those in social housing.
Passive cooling measures include internal blinds, external shutters, reflective window films, and cooler building materials. These enhance thermal comfort in hot weather and, when paired with active cooling, help mitigate energy bill increases.
We recognise that in some cases active cooling is needed to protect those most vulnerable to overheating and have taken steps to enable access to clean heat technologies that can also provide cooling functionality when necessary. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme will provide £2,500 grants for air‑to‑air heat pumps, which can also provide cooling.
The Government also embed overheating considerations through the Decent Homes Standard (DHS), Awaab’s Law, and the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS).
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the contribution of UK aviation emissions to the Government’s net zero targets; and what further measures she is considering to reduce emissions from the aviation sector while maintaining connectivity and economic growth.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises that aviation is one of the most challenging sectors to decarbonise, but also one that is vital to the UK’s connectivity, trade and economic growth. The Department regularly assesses the contribution of UK aviation emissions towards meeting our legally binding net zero commitments, and routinely reports to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on the projected impact of aviation decarbonisation policies, to support monitoring of economy-wide carbon budget performance.
We have announced that we are also reviewing our Jet Zero Strategy (published in 2022), which outlines our approach to aviation decarbonisation, with a view to publish an updated Strategy in early 2027. This will ensure that our aviation decarbonisation policies and framework continue to be accurate and robust.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of regional variation in access to care and dietary support for people living with Phenylketonuria in England; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure consistent provision across NHS regions.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We recognise that there are health inequities faced by those living with rare diseases and reducing them is a key commitment within England’s Rare Diseases Action Plans. This includes a new and important action to embed rare diseases within the NHS England Core20PLUS5 framework. This work aims to ensure that people living with rare conditions, including phenylketonuria, are better recognised within healthcare inequalities programmes and supported through more equitable access to healthcare services.
No specific assessment has been made of regional variation in access to care and dietary support for people living with phenylketonuria in England. However, NHS England commissions a specialised service for inherited metabolic disorders, through which commissioned hospitals provide access to specialist food supplements and clinical support. Newborn screening enables early diagnosis and referral into specialised services. NHS England is also working with providers to support equitable access, including through remote monitoring and advice to help minimise travel requirements for highly specialised services. In addition, professionals work with manufacturers to improve the range, acceptability and access to specialist dietary supplements and low-protein foods.
The Government remains committed to improving access to specialist care, treatments and drugs for people with rare diseases through the UK Rare Diseases Framework and the England Rare Diseases Action Plans.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve civic and political education in the secondary level of education.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Following the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, work is underway to deliver a new curriculum and assessment system that is ambitious for every child, rich in knowledge and strong on skills.
The reformed curriculum will provide a clear framework to ensure that pupils acquire the essential skills and knowledge they need to be active, informed and responsible citizens. In line with the recommendations of the review, we will ensure that citizenship education is tightly focused on the essential content pupils should know at primary and secondary, encompassing the vital threads of government, law and democracy, climate education, financial and media literacy.
Working closely with the sector, we are working towards a first teaching of the new curriculum from September 2028 and a phased approach to new GCSE teaching from September 2029.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness Safer Streets Mission in reducing residential burglaries in Greater Manchester; and what steps she is taking to improve the conviction rate of residential burglary in Greater Manchester.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government shares concerns over the misuse of both manufactured and homemade catapults, whether against people, property or wildlife.
There are a wide range of laws in place to punish those who misuse catapults. The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities and other local agencies, including Dorset police, with a range of tools and powers that they can use to respond to anti-social behaviour, including involving catapults. This includes Community Protection Warnings and Notices and Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs).
Under the Prevention of Crime Act 1953, if a person carries an offensive weapon in a public place or threatens a person with an offensive weapon, they may face up to 4 years in prison. The definition of an ‘offensive weapon’ may include a catapult depending on the circumstances of the case.
Where a catapult is used to harm a person, under the Offences against the Person Act 1861, it could be charged as assault occasioning actual bodily harm which carries a maximum penalty of 5 years’ imprisonment, or the offence of wounding or causing grievous bodily harm with intent, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Specific to animals and birds, the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 protects all wild birds and some wild animals in England and Wales and there are a range of other offences found in further legislation to protect wild animals from cruelty such as the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 and the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
We have noted proposals for new restrictions, and we are actively considering what more might be done.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of enabling small businesses to renegotiate and exit fixed-term commercial energy contracts agreed during periods of peak wholesale prices.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s primary focus is on ensuring energy is affordable for all businesses, and that they are provided better protection from being locked into unfair and expensive energy contracts.
That’s why the Government plans to directly regulate Third-Party Intermediaries (TPIs), by appointing Ofgem as the regulator when parliamentary time allows. A regulated TPI market will drive pro-consumer competition between energy brokers and deliver better outcomes for energy consumers, particularly charities and small businesses.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy and consistency of access to prescribed low-protein foods and specialist nutritional products for people with Phenylketonuria (PKU); and whether he plans to review current prescribing guidance.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made of the adequacy and consistency of access to prescribed low protein foods and specialist nutritional products for people with phenylketonuria (PKU).
In England, specialist nutritional products such as low protein foods are available to all eligible patients on prescription and are listed in Part XV of the Drug Tariff. The provision of these products on prescription ensures that patients with PKU have direct and reliable access to the foods needed for managing their condition.
The Department is not planning to review prescribing guidance for these products.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the regulatory framework governing the non-domestic energy market; and whether he plans to extend the powers of Ofgem to provide additional protections for SMEs.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government and Ofgem continuously monitor the non-domestic energy market to ensure that good outcomes are being delivered for all consumers.
Recently, the Secretary of State and Ofgem’s Interim CEO wrote to non-domestic suppliers and Third-Party Intermediaries (TPIs) to set out their expectations on how consumers should be supported during the current energy price volatility.
The Government and Ofgem have collaborated to deliver a range of interventions in response to the findings of Ofgem’s non-domestic market review and the Government plans to directly regulate TPIs, by appointing Ofgem as regulator when parliamentary time allows. This will protect non-domestic consumers from exploitative and harmful practices employed by some TPIs.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of rising standing charges on (a) independent pubs and (b) other low-consumption hospitality venues; and what steps he is taking to ensure that fixed network costs do not disproportionately affect small businesses with seasonal and variable energy use.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises that standing charges can be a significant concern for some businesses, including those in the hospitality sector. Network charges are designed to be cost-reflective, meaning they reflect the costs imposed on the network by different users.
Ofgem is conducting a holistic review of how energy system costs, including network costs, should be paid for in the future, as part of its Cost Allocation and Recovery Review (CARR). The most recent update as to progress with this review can be found here: Energy system cost allocation and recovery review - Ofgem - Citizen Space.
Alongside this, Ofgem’s work on the non-domestic market has highlighted the need to improve pricing transparency, and the Government has acted to strengthen protections for business consumers—such as measures to improve how businesses are supported in the market, including through action on third‑party intermediaries—so businesses can better understand what they are being charged and access better value contracts.
Asked by: Elsie Blundell (Labour - Heywood and Middleton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve patient access to new and emerging treatments for Phenylketonuria, including those available in other countries.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises how important it is that patients with rare diseases can benefit from access to effective new medicines. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS based on an assessment of clinical and cost effectiveness. NICE aims wherever possible to issue guidance on new medicines close to the time of licensing and the NHS is legally required to fund medicines recommended by NICE, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance.
NICE has published guidance recommending sapropterin (brand name Kuvan) for phenylketonuria (PKU) on the NHS as a possible treatment for people with this condition who meet the access criteria, are aged under 22 years old or who are pregnant.
NICE is also in the very early stages of developing technology appraisal guidance on sepiapterin for treating hyperphenylalaninaemia in phenylketonuria in people of any age. The evaluation is currently expected to begin in 2027.